Hymn to the Maruts
Rigveda V.87 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 5 of the Rigveda, one of the 1,028 hymns organized within the ten books of the oldest Veda. The Rigveda was composed approximately 1700–1100 BCE in Vedic Sanskrit and preserved through oral transmission across millennia.
This is a Good Works Translation produced by the New Tianmu Anglican Church from the Sanskrit of the Śākala recension.
O Maruts, the storm gods, the wild and terrible ones! Ye who ride upon the winds with thy bands of warriors, thy voices thundering across the heavens, thy presence shaking the earth! This is the final hymn of Mandala Five. Hear us one last time.
Ye are the sons of Rudra, fierce and relentless, adorned with golden ornaments, bearing weapons of lightning and hail. Your horses race before the wind. Your chariots are drawn by steeds that know no weariness. When ye march forth, the earth trembleth and the mountains bow before thy passing.
Yet ye are also the protectors of the herds and the guardians of the fields. Your rains nourish the crops. Your wind scattereth the seeds far and wide. Ye bring the relief of coolness in the burning heat. Ye drive away the stagnant air that bringeth disease. Without thee, the world would become a barren waste.
We have sung thy praises throughout this great book of songs, O mighty Maruts. We have honored thee in our hymns and our rituals. The soma floweth forth in thy honor. The sacred fires burn for thee. The priests have called thy names and made thee offerings.
Now, as Mandala Five closeth, we offer thee this benediction: Be merciful to the Ārya people. Guard our cattle and our children. Bring us rain without excess, wind without destruction. Temper thy terrible power with compassion.
O Maruts, go forth into the world, but remember those who have honored thee. Carry thy strength throughout the cosmos. Maintain the balance between chaos and order, between the wild forces of nature and the peace that mortals seek.
Hail to thee, O Maruts! Hail, mighty storm gods! May thy glory endure forever.
Colophon
This hymn is drawn from the Śākala recension of the Rigveda, composed approximately 1700–1100 BCE. This is a Good Works Translation produced by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, translated independently from the Sanskrit. Reference translations consulted during original translation are to be documented during audit.
Compiled and formatted for the Good Work Library by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026.
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Source Text: ṛgveda V.87
Sanskrit source text from the Aufrecht edition (1877) via GRETIL (Van Nooten & Holland input). Presented here for reference, study, and verification alongside the English translation above.
pra vo mahe matayo yantu viṣṇave marutvate girijā evayāmarut |
pra śardhāya prayajyave sukhādaye tavase bhandadiṣṭaye dhunivratāya śavase || 1 ||
pra ye jātā mahinā ye ca nu svayam pra vidmanā bruvata evayāmarut |
kratvā tad vo maruto nādhṛṣe śavo dānā mahnā tad eṣām adhṛṣṭāso nādrayaḥ || 2 ||
pra ye divo bṛhataḥ śṛṇvire girā suśukvānaḥ subhva evayāmarut |
na yeṣām irī sadhastha īṣṭa ām̐ agnayo na svavidyutaḥ pra syandrāso dhunīnām || 3 ||
sa cakrame mahato nir urukramaḥ samānasmāt sadasa evayāmarut |
yadāyukta tmanā svād adhi ṣṇubhir viṣpardhaso vimahaso jigāti śevṛdho nṛbhiḥ || 4 ||
svano na vo 'mavān rejayad vṛṣā tveṣo yayis taviṣa evayāmarut |
yenā sahanta ṛñjata svarociṣaḥ sthāraśmāno hiraṇyayāḥ svāyudhāsa iṣmiṇaḥ || 5 ||
apāro vo mahimā vṛddhaśavasas tveṣaṁ śavo 'vatv evayāmarut |
sthātāro hi prasitau saṁdṛśi sthana te na uruṣyatā nidaḥ śuśukvāṁso nāgnayaḥ || 6 ||
te rudrāsaḥ sumakhā agnayo yathā tuvidyumnā avantv evayāmarut |
dīrgham pṛthu paprathe sadma pārthivaṁ yeṣām ajmeṣv ā mahaḥ śardhāṁsy adbhutainasām || 7 ||
adveṣo no maruto gātum etana śrotā havaṁ jaritur evayāmarut |
viṣṇor mahaḥ samanyavo yuyotana smad rathyo3 na daṁsanāpa dveṣāṁsi sanutaḥ || 8 ||
gantā no yajñaṁ yajñiyāḥ suśami śrotā havam arakṣa evayāmarut |
jyeṣṭhāso na parvatāso vyomani yūyaṁ tasya pracetasaḥ syāta durdhartavo nidaḥ || 9 ||
Source Colophon
Sanskrit text of the Rigveda, Śākala recension. The standard scholarly edition is the Bombay Oriental (Vishva Bandhu, 5 vols., 1963–66). IAST transliteration available from GRETIL (Göttingen Register of Electronic Texts in Indian Languages) and Vedaweb (University of Cologne). Both sources are open access. IAST transliteration from the Aufrecht edition (1877) via GRETIL (Van Nooten & Holland input, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0).
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